The development of international education programmes is an emerging trend in Thai higher education, using English as the medium of instruction. Most of the 380 programmes offered
by public and private universities are postgraduate.Their aims are to encourage ThailandΓÇÖs institutions of higher learning to intensify their academic and administrative efforts to become more international in nature while
serving as a learning network for the region. It is hoped that the expertise and experiences of these institutions will enable ThailandΓÇÖs foreign partners,
especially those in neighbouring countries, to study in Thailand in order to exchange their knowledge, create better understanding and make collaborative efforts for human resource development and sustainable growth of the region.
To further encourage international cooperation in education as a means of promoting high technology in Southeast Asia, Thailand is the home of the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), where over 1,300 students from Asia and elsewhere attend courses in five academic schools: Management, Civil Engineering,
Advanced Technologies, Environment, and Resources and Development. About 180 professors from Asia and Western countries form the teaching staff at AIT. Courses in Management, Development, and Computer Sciences are offered
throughout the year. The Asian Disaster
Preparation Centre at AIT is also a unique training institute in this region.
In this regard, Rajabhat Institutes are seeking to internationalize their campuses in order to enrich their studentsΓÇÖ educational experiences. They offer joint international enrolment programmes as a means to expand their own capacities and diversify their programmes.
The aims and objectives of the international cooperation sought by Rajabhat Institutes are grounded in relationships tested over several years of cooperation with Australian, American,
British, French, Canadian and Japanese institutions. The relationships have been initiated and maintained with resources drawn from the cooperating institutions.
All Rajabhat Institutes are interested in faculty exchange programmes, and are resourced so as to be able to provide support service for sabbatical or other studies and researches. Exchange initiatives or hosted programmes and conferences are similarly resourced. Such programmes are viewed as opportunities for mutual faculty development.
In addition to joint programmes between Thai and overseas universities, there are also an increasing number of joint doctoral programmes between the Office of Rajabhat Institutes Council
and overseas universities. Presently, there are nine Ph.D/D.Ed Programmes with four overseas universities.
Higher Education
Higher education in Thailand dates back to late 19th century when King Rama V started to modernize the country. Highly qualified professionals were needed to engage in the civil service. Subsequently, law, medical and engineering schools were established to produce trained personnel for the Siamese government service. The country also saw the first comprehensive Thai university, upgraded from the Civil Service College in 1917. It was given the name Chulalongkorn after the late King Rama
V. Several specialized universities were later established in Bangkok after the revolution of 1932, namely, Thammasat University in 1933, and Mahidol, Kasetsart, and Silpakorn Universities
in1942. The main purpose of developing higher education in the early period remained unchanged, to produce manpower for the civil service.
Higher education took another significant leap with regional expansion in the 1960s when three provincial universities were set up: Chiang Mai
(1964), Khon Kaen (1964), and Prince of Songkhla (1967). More universities were established during the 1970s and 1980s, such as the National Institute of Development Administration, King MongkutΓÇÖs Institute of Technology, and Srinakharinwirot University.
Policies on Higher Education Development Plan
At present, higher education under the supervision of the Ministry of University Affairs is administered under the Eighth National Higher
Education Development Plan (1997-2001). The Plan stipulates six principal policies for higher education institutions, as follows:
1. Quality and excellence are directed to upgrade higher education to meet international standards and to promote academic excellence by way of quality assurance and faculty development
processes.
2. Access and equity aim to massify tertiary education to provide increased opportunities for the underprivileged and the disadvantaged to access higher education. Endeavours to address the issues are the setting up of ΓÇ£information technology campusesΓÇ¥, employing information technology such as interactive video conference systems and internet for teaching and learning and the introduction of financial aid under a student loan scheme.
3. Efficiency and accountability call for a more competent management and self-regulated higher education institutions. A target has been set for all 24 public-funded higher education
institutions to become fully autonomous by the year 2002. Conventional financial allocation will then be replaced by block grants from the government, while a post-auditing system will be put in place. As of January 2000, four state higher
education institutions have acquired the
autonomous status and continued to enjoy their complete academic freedom.
4. Relevance and delivery are intended to produce sufficient and qualified manpower to be responsive to social and economic needs of the country. There is great demand for personnel in
science, technology and engineering for growing industries and manufacturing. Acquired skills from higher education have to be transferable to career life; otherwise employers need more resources
to train their workers.
5. Internationalization and regionalization are needed to promote international education in Thailand and to encourage Thai academics and
students to gain more international perspectives. This policy has gained its momentum as Thai higher education institutions have actively participated in numerous forums as well as academic projects and activities at both regional
and international levels. Some examples are ASEAN University Network (AUN), University Mobility in Asia and the Pacific (UMAP), Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and UnescoΓÇÖs World
Declaration on Higher Education.
6. Privatization and corporatizationaim to allow the private sector to play a more active role in the provision of higher education and to adopt corporate-style management in Thai universities. More private universities have been established throughout the country, including foreign institutions. Soft loans are provided in the form of revolving funds for institutional and human resource development in private universities.
Autonomous University :
Future Direction
To promote academic advancement and efficient management of public higher education institutions, the Ministry of University Affairs (MUA) has put great effort into moving the remaining 20
public institutions out of the bureaucratic system to a more autonomous status. Autonomous universities will have a more flexible funding allocation, competitive personnel management and greater accountability for higher education
quality.Their new status by 2002 will continue to see government funding support in the form of block grants. Their administration and management will have to be adjusted with increased flexibility yet heightened quality. Their
faculty and staff will be hired on a contractual basis with the status of employees. Such changes in the practice and nature of their employment will
provide in return increased salary and benefits.
At present there are four autonomous
universities, namely Suranaree University of Technology, Walailak University, King MongkutΓÇÖs University of Technology Thonburi and Mae Fah
Luang University.
Facts and Figures in Higher
Education
Each fiscal year the government allocates a sizeable budget to finance higher education. Budget figures for higher education have grown larger every year, even during the period of the
countryΓÇÖs economic downturn. In fiscal year 1999 alone, 34.27 billion baht was allocated for the MUA. The largest share of the budget was designated for infrastructure and facilities, about 11.88 billion baht or 34.68 percent of the total
budget. Salaries and wages accounted for 11.84 billion baht, or 34.55 percent of the total budget. Block grants for autonomous universities amounted to 6.90 billion baht, or 20.14 percent of
the total budget. Administration and recurrent expenditures stood at 1.94 billion baht, or 5.66 percent.
Currently there are 24 public universities
, and 51 private universities/colleges. In 2001,
the public universities enrolled a total of 955,759 students, of which 36,225 were post-graduate students. The number of faculty members at all public universities was 20,700, teaching in 1,569 undergraduate and1,632 post-graduate programmes. In the same year, total enrolment at private higher education institutions was 223,810 in 1,062 undergraduate and 145 post-graduate study programmes. At present, there are two open admission universities out of the 24 public universities, namely Ramkhamhaeng University and Sukothai Thammathirat Open University. The two universities currently enroll approximately 600,000 students. Mode of education delivery is through written texts and education technology such as television broadcasting, and tutorial sessions held around the country.
Challenges Ahead
Under the newly enforced constitution, the government is obligated to provide 12 years of basic education free of charge. As a consequence, demand for higher education will be even greater every year with a higher flow of high
school graduates into tertiary education. To cope with the situation, the MUA hopes to maximize the use of its IT campuses to help accommodate the
rising enrolment. Fifteen out of 20 targeted campuses have already been constructed as branches of well- established universities using interactive video conference systems and internet as main media for instruction.These campuses are scattered all over the country and are linked with their parent institutions by inter-university network.
The University Network, commonly known as UNINET, is a high-speed information interchange through a computer network linking all campuses
in the four main regions of Thailand. The network also includes an electronic library with extensive links to each universityΓÇÖs campus network.
Another challenge is the globalized trend of heightened quality in higher education as stakeholders start to have a louder voice of concern. Public higher education institutions pay much more attention to the quality of their delivery
system and study programmes. Mechanisms
and procedures for higher education quality assurance are adopted to ensure higher education standards. Higher education quality assurance is based on the principles of academic
freedom and the administrative autonomy of universities. Consequently, the system promotes internal quality auditing, quality index indicators, and finally external auditing; the latter will be handled by an independent agency to be set up in
pursuance of the National Education Act of 1999.
Given the fact that human resources are the key to institutional and national development, vast resources have been invested in higher education personnel development to ensure the quality of
its higher education. Over one billion baht has been spent annually on human resource development. Hundreds of lecturers have benefited through the improvement of their qualifications and academic attainment both within Thailand and abroad.
Despite such continuing efforts, demands for qualified lecturers in science and technology, engineering, and other areas are still high. Various steps have been taken to alleviate the shortcomings in higher education. Collaborative doctoral degree programmes with foreign universities have been promoted to upgrade
higher education to international standards and to save foreign exchange. Thai students are therefore encouraged to study in these rogrammes in-country while having an opportunity to spend some time working with their foreign
professors abroad.
A pool of experts available to help improve higher education cope with the shortage of highly qualified personnel is also essential. Thai professionals working in developed countries in North America, Europe, and Japan are asked
to share their expertise in the country 's
development process. This project is called MUA-
Reverse Brain Drain. Invited Thai professionals take part in various activities, ranging from
curriculum development, joint research studies,
and institutional linkage promotion with foreign institutions. Up to now the project has formed three consortia on environment, agro industry, and pharmaceutical science.
Thailand as a centre of academic and
higher learning network in the region
Having realized the potential and academic strengths of higher education institutions, the MUA has taken initiatives to promote Thailand as the centre of academic and higher learning network
in the region. A number of projects and programmes have been implemented to realize the determination. It is believed that the number of foreign students in Thailand will increase dramatically. As a result, twinning arrangements between Thai and foreign institutions allowing
students an opportunity to study partly in Thailand and partly abroad have been strongly encouraged to strengthen Thai universitiesΓÇÖ teaching and research capacities. Collaborative doctoral pro-
grammes with foreign partners in areas of science and technology have also received financial support from the MUA. More than 300
international programmes ranging from undergraduate to graduate levels offered by
public and private institutions have attracted not
only Thai students but also many from
neighbouring countries and across the region. Efforts have been made to increase faculty student mobility in the region by providing 144 grants starting from 1999. The one-semester scholarships, amounting to 15 million baht
commemorated His Majesty the KingΓÇÖs Sixth Cycle Birthday.
The first higher education exhibition and seminars abroad were organized successfully in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, Vietnam in September 1999 to promote linkages between the two
countries. Continuous attempts will be made to ensure that mutual understanding of educational and closer sharing of expertise and experiences is expected among countries in the Greater Mekong
Sub-region.
Attempts to promote Thai universities as the hosts of international conferences/seminar/
trainings are also in process. A startup budget amounting to 5 million baht (US$ 128,205) from 1999 onward will be allocated to support potential
universities in winning international bids as well as building up university staffΓÇÖs capacity to organize such international conferences professionally.
Student Loan Scheme
In 1996, the government set up a 10 billion baht endowment fund, the startup amounting to 1.2 billion baht, for students from economically disadvantaged families. The loans have been
provided to support students from lower secondary up to undergraduate levels. The interest rate is as low as 1 percent with a grace period of two years after the studentsΓÇÖ graduation.
In fiscal year 1999, loans of 2 billion baht per academic year have been given out to both public and private tertiary institutions.
University Networking
To translate its policy in internationalization
and regionalization into concrete action, the MUA has encouraged its higher education institutions to
actively take part in a number of regional networkings/groupings. Under the University Mobility in Asia and the Pacific (UMAP), students and faculty members have been supported to spend a semester studying or undertaking
research abroad on credit transfer basis. Thai universities also participate in the trial UMAP Credit Transfer Scheme (UCTS) which will ensure that credit is received by students for study under-
taken when on exchange with other foreign participating universities.
Under APEC, Thailand initiated a project on ΓÇ£APEC Youth Networking: Youth Preparation for the APEC Society in the Next MillenniumΓÇ¥. About 150 youths from 14 APEC member economies
joined the event, learning about APEC and its implications on life in the future as well as making friends with one another for future cooperation. In the ASEAN framework, Thailand has taken the leading role in hosting the temporary office (1997-1999) and permanent office of the ASEAN University Network Secretariat (AUNS), starting in 2000. ASEAN University Network (AUN) aims at strengthening ASEAN awareness and cooperation through the promotion of the exchange of students, faculty members, collaborative research and ASEAN studies among the participating
universities. AUN comprises 17 leading
universities in ASEAN countries including Chulalongkorn University, which houses the AUNS permanent office, and Burapha University. Apart
from collaboration among its members, the network has expanded its scope of cooperation to major ASEAN dialogue partners such as the European Union, Japan and Korea.
